10 Last-Minute Ideas for Brilliant Halloween Costumes

1. Pablo Picasso

Accessorize a black and white striped shirt and comfortable pants or shorts with a paintbrush and palette. Act like a ladies man. Top with a bald cap and voila, a masterpiece!

2. Dorothy Parker

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Dorothy Parker quipped, "The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue." So that's a start. Then pull your hair back and wear a dark vintage-looking dress and sensible shoes. Accessorize with an empty martini glass and as many of these quotes as you can remember.

3. Albert Einstein

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This look's all about the crazy hair and shaggy mustache. The clothes are, well, relative. Dress up in a jacket and tie, or just stick to a warm sweater and corduroy pants. Accessorize with a handheld chalkboard and a piece of chalk for writing equations. If you've got somewhere to go, travel by bike. Einstein never learned to drive.

4. Frida Kahlo

Go wild with color play or just stick to the basics—a long dress, shawl, braided updo, penciled-in unibrow, and optional flowers in your hair. For a greater challenge, try to recreate one of Kahlo's many self-portraits.

5. Mr. Rogers

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It's a beautiful day for a Mr. Rogers costume. Start out in a suit and tie and exchange your jacket for a colorful, zip-up sweater. Then take off your dress shoes and slip into sneakers.

6. Marie Curie

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Wear a black long-sleeve, floor-length dress or shirt/skirt combo, pull back your hair, and carry a beaker of something that's not actually radioactive. If you've got chemistry (or physics) with a guy, consider asking him to dress up as Pierre Curie.

7. Gandhi

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Party peacefully in a bald cap, white mustache, round glasses, sandals, white shorts, and a carefully draped white sheet. Add Gandhi's walking stick and lead your friends around the festivities.

8. Jane Goodall

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Start with a sensible Gombe get-up: a solid button-down shirt, khaki pants or shorts, and sneakers. Put your hair in a ponytail and binoculars around your neck. Then comes the pièce de résistance: a stuffed chimpanzee ... or a friend stuffed in a chimpanzee costume.

9. Junot Diaz

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Already bald, bespectacled, and goateed? Just add a black long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and a way with words. Practice your Spanish before staging a reading.

10. Marina Abramović

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Abramović's 2010 retrospective performance "The Artist Is Present" involved sitting in a chair at the Museum of Modern Art for seven hours a day, six days a week, for a total of 736 hours. All you have to do is find a long-sleeve, floor-length black, white, or red dress, side-braid your hair, and stare at people.

A photo from the 1919 wedding of Princess Patricia of Connaught to the Hon. Alexander Ramsay.

Need some St. Patrick's Day conversation fodder that doesn't involve leprechauns or four-leaf clovers? Ask your friends to name a "Pat" born on St. Patrick's Day. If they can't, they owe you a drink—then you can wow them with this list of 10.

1. PRINCESS PATRICIA OF CONNAUGHT

Princess Patricia was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who gave up all of her royal titles when she married a commoner. She was born at Buckingham Palace on March 17, 1886.

2. PATRICK DUFFY

The Dallas star was born on March 17, 1949. And here's a totally random fact about Duffy: His nephew is Barry Zito, former MLB pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants.

3. PATTIE BOYD

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Pattie Boyd is well-known to lovers of classic rock: She has been married three times, including once to George Harrison and once to Eric Clapton, who both wrote a couple of the most romantic songs in rock history in her honor (including The Beatles's "Something" and Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight"). Boyd was a model when she met Harrison on the set of A Hard Day's Night in 1964; the pair were married two years later. They divorced in 1977 and she married Clapton, Harrison's close friend, in 1979. She also had an affair with Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones toward the end of her marriage to The Quiet Beatle.

4. PAT RICE

Belfast-born Pat Rice is a former footballer and coach who spent the bulk of his career with Arsenal F.C. (that's "football club," a.k.a. soccer to us Americans). He joined the Gunners in 1964 as a mere apprentice, turning pro a couple of years later. He became captain in 1977 and left the club for a few years in the early 1980s to go to Watford, but returned after he retired from playing in 1984. In 2012, after nearly 30 years with the organization, he announced his retirement.

5. PATTY MALONEY

Patty Maloney is an actress with dwarfism who stands just three feet, 11 inches tall. She has appeared in many movies and T.V. shows over the years, including operating the Crypt Keeper puppet in Tales from the Crypt. She also played Chewbacca's son Lumpy in The Star Wars Holiday Special.

6. MATHEW ST. PATRICK

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Ok, so Mathew St. Patrick is the stage name of the actor, but he was born Patrick Matthews in Philadelphia on March 17, 1968. You probably know him best as David's boyfriend Keith on Six Feet Under.

7. PATRICK ADAMS

He may not be a household name, but the recording artists Patrick Adams writes for and helps produce certainly are. Adams has been involved in the careers of Salt-N-Pepa, Sister Sledge, Gladys Knight, Rick James, and Coolio, among others.

8. PATRICK MCDONNELL

It's possible you look at Patrick McDonnell's work every day, depending on which comics your newspaper carries. McDonnell draws a strip called Mutts featuring a dog and a cat named Earl and Mooch, respectively. Charles Schulz called it one of the best comic strips of all time.

9. BILLY PATRICK CORGAN

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Yes, you know him better as just plain old Billy Corgan: he's the face of the Smashing Pumpkins, engages in public feuds with Courtney Love, and maybe once dated Jessica Simpson. He made his debut on March 17, 1967.

10. PATRICIA FORD

Patricia Ford is a retired model probably best known for her Playboy photoshoots in the 1990s.

You know St. Patrick's Day falls on the 17th of March. And you probably know how many green beers is too many green beers for you to consume. But do you know how many boys born in Ireland are named Patrick each year? Or how many people travel to Ireland to celebrate the holiday each March? The folks at RewardExpert, a website dedicated to helping travelers find the best frequent flyer and travel credit card reward programs for their lifestyle, do. And they've gathered it all together in one handy infographic, just in time for the big day.